Kansas Jayhawks add standout Australian basketball recruit Johnny Furphy for 2023-24
The Kansas Jayhawks have founded their latest addition in an offseason filled with roster churn and changes, with coach Bill Self and the program landing a commitment from Australian Johnny Furphy Wednesday night.
Furphy is reclassifying from the class of 2024 in order to join the Jayhawks this season, although this is the class he was originally part of. He reclassified to 2024 when his recruitment stalled when his recruitment stalled, but returned to 2023 after his profile blew up this summer.
According to 247Sports, KU was one of five high-major offers for Furphy, though other notable programs were reportedly interested, including North Carolina.
A 6-foot-7, 180-pound wing, Furphy has been active on the competitive circuit throughout the summer and gained traction thanks to his performance for the NBA Academy. At the NBA Academy Games in Atlanta this year, he scored 14.8 points per game on 45% shooting while grabbing 7.5 rebounds a contest.
“I think everybody knows that Kansas is one of the basketball programs in the United States but what made the difference in the end was coach Self explaining the role he had in mind for me,” Furphy told Travis Branham of 247Sports. “To be honest, I was nervous about coming to such a big program but coach Self has given me confidence that he both wants and needs me at Kansas.”
Furphy will fill the role left open by Marcus Adams Jr., a four-star recruit who signed with the Jayhawks this summer but left the program and transferred to Gonzaga after just a few weeks on campus. He’s one of two freshmen who left the KU program before bootcamp this summer, joining Chris Johnson.
Kansas will have a largely new-look roster this coming season between a now three-man freshman class add a bevy of transfers. Furphy joins Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell as the newest scholarship freshmen for KU. Former All-American Hunter Dickinson headlines the Jayhawks’ transfer class, which also includes former Texas Longhorn Arterio Morris, sixth-year senior Nick Timberlake from Towson and reserve big man Parker Braun from Santa Clara.
Furphy isn’t with the team yet, as the Jayhawks are currently in Puerto Rico for a three-game event this week. Their first game will be against a Puerto Ricco Select Team on Thursday morning, followed by two games against the Bahamian National Team on Aug. 5 and 7.